Binnie receives zoning variances for Walker School site

Businessman Bill Binnie’s plans to turn the former Walker School building into a media center moved forward last week, when the Concord Zoning Board approved a number of zoning variances for the property.

Binnie received approval for all the variances he sought Wednesday night, according to Richard Uchida, his attorney. The approvals include building less than the required number of parking spaces, planting less of a landscape buffer around the property than required and installing signs in certain areas on the site.

The former elementary school will house six of Binnie’s 17 radio stations and studios for Derry-based WBIN-TV. Binnie is purchasing the property from the Concord School District for $900,000; he outbid Concord Group Insurance at an auction last year for the Church Street building.

Work on the property is expected to begin this summer, and the media center will open next year.

Uchida said Binnie will next take his plans before the city’s heritage commission. The commission must approve any changes to the property because it is in the city’s historic district. Plans must also go before the planning board before construction can begin.